What happened
Monday.com released a survey of 1,701 directors and senior managers in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Australia and Singapore. The poll asked respondents about daily AI usage, perceived value, skill levels and the state of organizational AI infrastructure. While a majority said they use AI every day and feel it adds value, only a small minority reported working at firms where AI is fully optimized and embedded in a central operating system. Roughly 50 % said they spend the week using a blend of sanctioned and unsanctioned AI tools. Respondents also indicated that identifying where AI adds value often takes more effort than the benefit it delivers, and that new managerial skills are required to lead in an AI‑rich environment.
The survey, conducted online between June and July 2026, sampled senior leaders from seven countries representing a range of industries, including technology, finance, manufacturing and professional services. Respondents were asked to rate statements on a Likert scale and to select the most pressing challenges they face when integrating AI into daily workflows.
Key quantitative results include: 78 % of participants report daily AI usage; 62 % say AI adds clear value to their teams; only 19 % work at organizations with a fully optimized, centralized AI infrastructure; and 48 % admit they regularly use both approved and rogue AI applications. Additionally, 55 % believe that pinpointing AI’s value‑add requires more effort than the resulting efficiency gains.
Qualitative feedback underscores a cultural tension: managers feel pressure to adopt AI quickly, yet corporate policies lag behind, leading to a “shadow AI” ecosystem. Respondents also noted that effective AI leadership now demands new competencies, such as , data‑privacy awareness and change‑management skills.
Why it matters
The findings highlight a growing gap between individual AI competence and corporate governance. Managers who are eager to leverage AI may be forced to navigate a patchwork of tools, increasing security, compliance and productivity risks. The mismatch suggests that many organizations lack the coordinated infrastructure needed to capture AI’s promised efficiencies, potentially slowing broader digital transformation. For vendors and policymakers, the data signals a need for clearer standards, training programs and centralized AI platforms that can reconcile the speed of skill acquisition with the slower rollout of enterprise‑wide systems.
The survey’s cross‑regional scope suggests the managerial AI headache is not confined to a single market, indicating a systemic industry challenge.
A fragmented AI tool landscape can expose firms to data‑security breaches, compliance violations and inconsistent decision‑making, especially when unsanctioned tools bypass IT controls.
The identified skill gap implies that traditional management training programs may become obsolete unless they incorporate AI‑specific curricula, affecting talent development pipelines across sectors.
If organizations fail to align infrastructure with user competence, the anticipated productivity gains from AI could be eroded, dampening ROI expectations that have driven recent AI investment surges.
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What to watch next
Future Monday.com updates may reveal how firms plan to close the infrastructure gap, such as investments in platforms or centralized model hubs. Watch for announcements from large enterprises about adopting unified AI stacks, as well as regulatory guidance on the use of unsanctioned AI tools in the workplace. Tracking changes in manager‑level AI training budgets will also indicate whether companies are responding to the skill‑gap identified in the survey.
Announcements of enterprise‑wide AI platforms that promise centralized governance and model versioning.
Regulatory proposals or industry standards addressing the use of unsanctioned AI tools in corporate environments.
Corporate training initiatives that explicitly target AI‑related managerial competencies, such as design and ethical AI use.
Metrics from future surveys that track changes in the proportion of firms with fully integrated AI systems.